1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a telecommunications service control unit within a telecommunications switching network and method of operation of the telecommunications service control unit, and more particularly, to controlling a call processing between a call originating terminal and called terminal including switching operations.
2. Description of the Related Art
The conventional service control unit of this type described above uses a plurality of specific controls corresponding to user's requests, in addition to effecting the operation of a standard communication control system prepared in advance, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 216568/87.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a conventional telecommunication service system configuration.
Service controller 801 is provided for corresponding to every connection services, contains a descriptive operating procedure, calls service common management/control means 821 for implementation and controls a requested telecommunications service, and as service control unit 101, controls service implementation device 251 thereby to implement the communication service according to the instruction of the service controller 801.
Service common management/controller 821 has a data library for control procedures necessary for all telecommunications services, from which the procedures of implementing a requested service are called out by service controller 801, the procedures are referred to control such telecommunications apparatus as subscriber circuit controller 211 and switching controller 221; and the control procedures are executed through implementation device 251 upon called from service control means 801.
Terminals 241 and 242 connected to each other via subscriber circuit controller 211, switching controller 221 and subscriber circuit controller 212. A service implementation processing involved in this connection, is executed by service control unit 101 which drives service controller 801 and service common management/controller 821, so that subscriber circuit controller 211, switching controller 221, media controller 231 and subscriber circuit controller 212 are controlled through apparatus control interface 261.
In executing this processing, service implementation device 251 is controlled by service controller 801 which applies service control-use memory 811 as a storage, causing each terminal controller to implement a requested service via service common management/controller 821 which applies service common management/controller-use memory 831 as a storage.
It is noted here that media controller 231 is a voice storage and/or a voice synthesizer unit, etc.
Next, referring to FIG. 1, this conventional technique is described in accordance with its functional aspect.
Terminal 241 requests service control unit 101 for a service through subscriber circuit controller 211. In response to this request, service control unit 101 judges the service required, selecting the control procedure corresponding to the requested service through service controller 801, and instructing service implementation device 251 to execute the control procedure selected by service controller 801.
Service controller 801 is defined to call service common management/controller 821 which holds feasible processing procedures as the library within service control unit 101 and implementation device 251 undertakes a service implementation processing, under the control of service controller 801.
The information, which is temporarily required during the operation of service controller 801 is written into and read out from service controller-use memory 811 according to the procedure built-in service controller 801.
Service common management/controller 821 starts functioning in response to a call from service controller 801.
Service common management/controller 821 has calling procedures to call each of such functions of subscriber circuit controller 211, media controller 231, switching controller 221, subscriber circuit controller 212, etc. which are driveable by service control unit 101 and in response to a request from service controller 801, operates such telecommunications apparatus as subscriber circuit controller 211, and so forth, via apparatus control interface 261.
The information, which is temporarily required while service common management/controller 821 is proceeding with its processing, is stored into and read out from service common management/control-use memory 831, following the procedure contained in service common management/control means 821.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating one example of the conventional telecommunications service control system, wherein the principle of the invention disclosed in above Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 216568/87 is described. In the conventional telecommunications control system disclosed in the Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication, controller (CC) 911 controls switching/connection-use communication path 901 according to a given procedure.
Logic node 922 includes therein data 951 related to service users, processing procedure 961, etc. for satisfying a service user request. A detail of internal configuration 931 of node 922 is denoted in FIG. 2.
Next, referring to FIG. 2, the conventional communication service control system is described with regard to its functioning. User A sends out a request a call with B to controller 911 through communication path 901. Controller 911 starts node 921 corresponding to user A and then transfers an incoming call information to node 922 corresponding to user B.
Node 922 keeps information 931 concerning user B, as shown in the figure, and executes a judgment whether the incoming call is accepted or transferred to elsewhere.
The result of the judgment at node 922 is reported to controller 911, and following this reported information, controller 911 controls communication path 901 for a connection processing.
However, the conventional technique confronts with the problems which will be referred to hereunder:
The first problem lies in that to enable controlling a newly added communication apparatus from service control unit 101, it is needed to modify, over a great extent, the operational contents stored in the service common management/controller.
The reason thereof is that in the conventional service control unit 101, respective telecommunications apparatus operating procedures are integrally contained in the service common management/controller in wholly configuration thereto, thus not allowing to renew the telecommunications apparatus operating procedures alone.
The second problem consists in that when a service controller and service common management/controller defined to operate within a service control unit are forced to implement across a plurality of service control unit, it is necessary to greatly modify the operational contents included in the service common management/controller.
The reason thereof is that to implement a service which needs to operate across a plurality of service control units, it is required to simultaneously control the telecommunications devices associated with this service from plural service controllers, because in spite of the requirement that an arbitration processing must be undertaken among service control units, for each telecommunications apparatus in a manner that respective controls of individual communication apparatus may not conflict with one another, as pointed out regarding the reason of the first problem, the communication apparatus operating procedures are stored in the service common management/controller, resulting in necessity to contain a required arbitration processing procedure in the service common management/controller.